Prince Charming of Harley Street / The Heart Doctor and the Baby (8 page)

Jonathan was finding it difficult to concentrate. For once he didn’t know what to do. She slid back into the seat next to him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright.

‘You didn’t tell me you could sing like that!’ Jonathan said.

Rose smiled briefly. ‘It’s not as if it’s ever come up. It’s just something I do for fun. When I’m in on my own and it’s raining outside. Sometimes, when something touches me, I make up my own songs. I guess it’s my way of relaxing.’ She glanced at him and he could see the teasing look in her eyes. ‘I’ve never sung in public before. I didn’t think I could.’ If he had found her interesting before, now he knew he wanted to know everything about this woman who was so unlike anyone he had ever met.

Then there was a sudden movement as chairs and tables were lifted and piled up at the sides. A group of three had taken to the stage. One was carrying an accordion, the other two fiddles.

Rose flashed him a grin. ‘Can you dance?’ she asked. ‘It looks like you’re getting away with singing tonight.’

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Depends what kind of dancing you’re talking about. I do a fairly mean waltz and not a bad foxtrot, but I’m getting the distinct impression that it’s not the kind of dancing you’re talking about, is it?’

‘Nope.’ Rose’s grin grew wider. ‘They do two types of dancing here. One is Scottish country dancing, the other line dancing. You must have learned Scottish country dance at your school in Scotland, surely?’ Jonathan felt a wave of relief. They had been taught the formal Scottish dances with their intricate steps. He could do that all right. But, still, there was that suspicious little smile hovering on Rose’s lips. It unnerved him.

He stood up and as the band struck up a tune and invited
everyone to take their places for an eight-some reel, he held out his hand to Rose. ‘Shall we?’ he asked.

But if he’d thought he was going to be dancing a dance that he had learned, he soon found out he was badly mistaken. Oh, the steps were the same, but the pace was quite different. It all happened at breakneck speed and in response to the fervour of the dancers, the band increased their tempo. Soon he was part of a dervish dance where everyone’s feet were moving at the speed of light. As he whirled Rose around, her hair fanned out behind her. Then he was dancing with another partner who was forcing him to move ever faster. Not before time, the dance ended and Jonathan was able to get his breath back. But the respite was brief. Immediately the music struck up again. The Canadian barn dance was followed by the Boston twostep and the Highland Scottische. All carried out at breakneck speed. He just gave in to it and soon he found he was enjoying the exhilarating pace and being swept up by the rest of the dancers. For the last dance, the tempo slowed and the band asked everyone to take their partners for a St Bernard’s waltz.

He pulled Rose into his arms, breathing in the scent of her as she placed her head on his shoulder. At first she was stiff in his arms, but as the music continued he felt her relax against him. It was strange how they seemed to fit together.

‘So what do you think so far?’ She raised her face and looked into his face with her amazing china-blue eyes. ‘Not your cup of tea, I’m guessing?’

‘Then it’s clear you don’t know me at all, Rose Taylor. How about we go to that party Jessamine mentioned for our next date?’

His words took even him by surprise. Just what was he
getting into here? He felt her pull away, but he wrapped her back in his arms.

‘Our next date?’ she said, her face flushing. ‘But this isn’t a date, is it? Just two friends out together.’

‘Is that what you really think?’ he said. ‘Come on, Rose, pretending doesn’t suit you. You and I both know that there’s more to it than that. I want to get to know the real Rose Taylor and I suspect you’re not immune to me either.’

She raised her face to look him directly in the eye. ‘We both know that we can’t have a relationship,’ she said flatly.

‘Why not?’ he asked.

She looked back at him. ‘You know why not,’ she said steadily.

‘I’m not sure I do.’

‘I don’t think mixing work and personal life is a good idea.’

‘Why? Aren’t we doing that now? I’m having a good time. Aren’t you?’

‘Yes but…’ She trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

She was thinking she wasn’t from his world and he wasn’t from hers, Jonathan mused. Admittedly, they had different upbringings, different friends, different lives, but what the hell did it matter? Not to him. It did to her, though. Her expressive face couldn’t hide her obvious disapproval of him and the frivolous lifestyle she believed he led. She seemed so sure they had nothing in common. But he had never felt this at ease in a woman’s company. And he knew he had never wanted a woman the way he wanted her right now.

‘Can’t we just go out and have fun? As friends?’ he asked, knowing damn well that he had no intention of just staying friends with her. ‘Let’s just see where this takes us? No promises on either side. Just two people who enjoy each other’s company getting to know each other better.’

‘I’m not very good at casual relationships, Jonathan,’ she said. ‘I know it’s not very modern, but there you go, that’s the way I am. I can do nothing about my background, but I won’t change who I am just to suit you.’

‘I’m not asking you to. I won’t push you to sleep with me if that’s what’s worrying you.’ He was unable to stop himself smiling at the thought of Rose naked in his arms. ‘I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman. I’m guessing you could use a friend right now.’

‘I do have friends,’ Rose protested, waving her hand in the general direction of the room.

‘But we can never have too many, can we? Come on, what do you say? Have a little fun. If you don’t need friends, you do need something to take your mind off work.’ He dropped his voice. ‘And what’s happening at home.’

If only he knew that what was happening at home wasn’t the whole of it. And hadn’t she told herself she would make the most of whatever time she had left? Take tonight, for example. Although Jack had tried to get her to sing in public before, she had always refused; the thought had scared her senseless. But then she had remembered her promise to herself and had forced herself to take the guitar. By closing her eyes she had been able to let herself pretend she was back in her room, alone, and once she had started singing she had lost herself in it. She had poured her heartache, the loss of her future into the music. And it had felt good. The applause had taken her by surprise; she had almost forgotten there were other people in the room.

When she’d opened her eyes, it had been to meet Jonathan’s green eyes looking at her with what? Admiration? Surprise? Something was changing inside her, and she wasn’t convinced it was just down to her
illness. Somehow being with Jonathan made her feel as if she could do anything. The thought took her breath away. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t part of her plan. But if she couldn’t offer him a future, well, neither was he suggesting one. She held out her hand. He looked at her in surprise before enveloping it in his. His hand was cool in hers, his long fingers those of a surgeon. A thrill ran up her spine. More than anything else in the world, she wanted to know what it would feel like to be held in his arms. To have his mouth pressing down on hers. To lose herself in him—even if it was only for a short time.

‘Okay.’ She found herself smiling. ‘I give in. I’ll go with you to the party tomorrow.’ She wagged a playful finger at him. ‘But only because I’ve never been to a party on a yacht before.’

Jonathan grinned. ‘If that’s what it takes, I’ve plenty more types of parties to tempt you with.’

I
T WAS
bucketing down, Rose saw as she peered out from her bedroom window the next morning. So much for the start of summer. Her stomach was a mass of butterflies as she thought about the day to come. If she hadn’t been so determined to follow through on the promise she had made to herself she would have been tempted to find an excuse not to go. Once again, she wondered if she was admitting the whole truth to herself. It wasn’t just her vow to grab life with both hands while she could, it was that the life, just tantalisingly out of her reach, now held Jonathan. Who knew how long he’d be in her life? And she wanted to spend every minute she could with him. She was making memories that would have to last her a lifetime, however long that might be.

Pushing away the morbid thoughts, she considered her meagre wardrobe critically. The trouble was she didn’t have the vaguest idea what one was supposed to wear to a party on a yacht. In the end she settled on her standby little black dress she always wore when she needed something more formal than her usual skirts and jeans. The best thing about it was that it was cut in a way that made her bony frame look sophisticatedly curvaceous instead of the sharp angles she was used to seeing.

By the time she had showered and dressed, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. Maybe the day wouldn’t be a complete washout after all.

Jonathan arrived to collect her, looking as sexy as hell in his faded jeans and short-sleeved shirt. He whistled in appreciation when he saw her and Rose was uncomfortably aware of the blush warming her cheeks. With a bit of luck he wouldn’t notice.

The first surprise was that the yacht wasn’t on the Thames. Jonathan had laughed when he’d noticed her bewilderment.

‘I don’t think many people keep their boats on the Thames. No, this one is moored off the coast of the Isle of Wight. They’re sending the helicopter for us.’

Is that how everyone travelled in his circle? Rose thought a little grumpily. What was wrong with a car, although, come to think of it, getting to the Isle of Wight by road was, of course, impossible. Her head was beginning to ache. It had been a crazy idea to come. She was sure to be completely out of her depth.

Jonathan slid a glance in her direction. His face took on an uncharacteristically sombre expression.

‘You’re not having second thoughts, are you?’ he asked.

It was on the tip of Rose’s tongue to say, yes, she was and would he mind just dropping her off at the nearest station? But she bit the words back. She promised herself that she was going to try and be more adventurous and she was damned if she was going to bail out just because she was terrified she wouldn’t fit in. After all, what was the worst that could happen? If everyone ignored her, she could…what? Swim back to London?

‘I’ll look after you, I promise,’ Jonathan said. ‘They’re
really a good bunch of people. Some a bit wilder than others, but nothing too outrageous.’

Giving in to the inevitable, Rose made herself relax. At least, with Jonathan promising to stay close by, she wouldn’t be left on her own.

The yacht was unlike anything Rose had ever seen before. For a start it was enormous, almost the length of a football pitch, and all gleaming white lines and stainless steel.

There were a number of people already there. Half of the guests were in bikinis or swimming costumes, the other half were dressed informally in shorts or jeans. Rose felt overdressed and uncomfortable. But there was no way, no way at all, she’d wear a swimming costume to a party, especially this early in the year.

Someone handed them a drink as soon as they stepped on board. Taking a sip, Rose grimaced and, looking around in case anyone was watching her, tipped her drink over the side of the boat. It was far too early to be drinking champagne.

Seconds later, to her dismay, Jonathan was swept up in a crowd and carried away. So much for his promise to watch out for her. To be fair, he wasn’t to know just how cripplingly shy and out of her depth she felt right now. Rose leaned against the side of the boat, wondering how long she would have to stay before making her excuses. She knew she should introduce herself to one of the chatting groups, but she just couldn’t make her hands let go of the rail.

‘Hello.’ A soft deep voice broke into her reverie. ‘And who are you?’

Rose whirled around to find a blond-haired man with slightly unfocused eyes looking at her. Clearly he had been at the champagne.

‘I’m Rose Taylor. Jonathan’s nurse,’ she said politely, proffering a hand.

‘Pleased to meet you, Rose Taylor, Jonathan’s nurse. I’m Henry. It’s my sister’s party.’

Rose craned her neck wondering which one of the guests was Henry’s sister. It could have been any of the elegant women clustered on the deck. She could just make out the top of Jonathan’s head in the centre of a group of attentive females. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned and caught her eye and raised a questioning eyebrow. She shook her head slightly. Now someone was talking to her, she was no longer sticking out like a sore thumb.

Henry reached over and lifted Rose’s glasses from her face. Her unease mounted as everything around her blurred. She reached for her glasses but Henry grinned and hid them behind his back. ‘Hey, you’re not bad looking when a person can see your face.’ He swayed towards her, breathing the smell of stale alcohol on her face. ‘Trust Jonathan to keep you as his little secret.’

Embarrassed and repulsed, Rose stepped back. But Henry stepped closer until she was almost pinned against the side of the boat. Over Henry’s shoulder, she looked for Jonathan but all she could see were blurry shapes.

‘Please give me my glasses back,’ she said as steadily as she could. The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene in front of all these strangers.

Henry waved them in front of her. ‘A little kiss in exchange?’ he slurred.

Rose snatched the glasses from his hand. At least now she could see properly. Over Henry’s shoulder, she caught Jonathan staring at them, frowning. Something in her face
must have told him that she was extremely uncomfortable. Within moments he was by her side.

‘Hey, Henry. Can I have my guest back?’ Jonathan said smoothly. ‘I think I should show her around.’ He took Rose by the elbow and steered her away.

‘Henry is best avoided, I’m afraid. He eats girls like you for breakfast.’

Suddenly furious Rose shook his arm off.

‘And what makes you think I can’t handle him? Just because I don’t mix with the rich and famous every day of my life, it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to handle snakes like him. If he hadn’t taken my glasses and I couldn’t see, I wouldn’t have needed you to…rescue me.’ She almost spat the last words, her mortification at being the centre of attention causing her to direct her fury at Jonathan. She should never have come, no matter what promises she had made herself. Being mortified wasn’t on her list of must dos!

Jonathan laughed. Immediately the anger drained from her.

‘I should have known better. Of course you could handle Henry. One look from those diamond eyes is enough to cut anyone down to size.’

The world stood still. Jonathan reached over and gently lifted the glasses from her face. ‘You do have amazing eyes, you know.’

Rose felt the strength go from her legs. He shouldn’t be looking at her like that. It wasn’t fair. He was making her feel as if she was just as beautiful as the rest of the women, and that was rubbish. Next to them, she was like a gawky schoolgirl. She snatched her glasses back from his hands. Thankfully everything swam back into focus. Why, oh, why did he have to smile like that?

Desperate for him not to see her blushing, she turned on her heel, almost falling over in the process. Once again, he reached out and grabbed her, steadying her against him. She could feel the heat of his body, smell his aftershave and it was doing all sorts of confusing things to her head. She looked up to find amused eyes looking into hers. Did he know the effect he was having on her? Of course he did. Someone like him would be used to it. She pushed against his chest and drew herself up to her full height. ‘You were going to show me around?’ she said stiffly, wishing desperately that she could think of something more amusing, more light-hearted to say.

The grin still very much in evidence, Jonathan indicated a flight of steps leading down into the boat with a nod of his head.

‘Let’s start inside.’

At the bottom of the steps was a sitting area filled with people, laughing and chatting. Jonathan steered her through the group, stopping only to say a brief hello and promising to come back later for a proper chat. But before they could get to the other side of the room, a girl with hair like a silver waterfall ran up to Jonathan and threw her arms around him.

‘Darling, I’ve being looking for you everywhere.’ Rose was conscious of curious eyes on her. But she was damned if she was going to let anyone else see how uncomfortable she was. She left Jonathan and wandered off by herself.

Off the main sitting area there were a number of bedrooms which, although small, were kitted out with the latest electronic equipment. Flat-screen TVs and state-of-the-art speakers. Each bedroom had a small but fully equipped bathroom.

She threaded her way back through the main sitting area. Jonathan had disappeared, so she went back up the stairs. The deck wrapped around the boat, and there was a jacuzzi at one end, what was it called? The prow? Several guests were in the jacuzzi, lapping up the sun. A couple of waiters and waitresses circled around, carrying trays of drinks and canapés. Rose helped herself to an orange juice and a tiny tart of something unrecognisable but delicious. Thankfully Henry was nowhere to be seen.

‘Here you are,’ Jonathan said, appearing at her elbow with the blonde. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you. May I introduce Summer? Summer, this is Rose.’

Well, of course she’d be called Summer with hair like that. The blonde smiled at her, but there was a speculative look in her eyes that made Rose wonder.

‘My goodness,’ she said. ‘Where did you buy your dress? Was it from some vintage market?’

Ouch. Was everyone at this damn party determined to make her feel small? In the past she might have mumbled something and walked away, but that had been before…Before she’d known there were more important things in life to worry about than rude, obnoxious people who had nothing better to do than make themselves feel superior at her expense.

‘Yes, it was. How clever of you to know that,’ Rose responded. ‘I love wearing clothes that other people have loved wearing in the past. It makes me feel as if I know them a little.’

She took in Summer’s outfit. The blonde was wearing tights that looked as if they’d been fashioned from the skin of a tiger and a gold lamé dress that just covered her bottom. Although she did look gorgeous, it wasn’t the kind
of outfit Rose could ever see herself wearing in a hundred years. It was far too trendy and far too short for a start. No, whatever they thought of her clothes, she preferred the simple black dress she was wearing. And if it was a few years out of date, she didn’t give a hoot. In fact, she had just about as much as she could take of being given the once over and found wanting. She should have stuck with her original gut instinct and stayed well away. What would she and this crowd ever have in common?

But just as she was searching for the words to make her excuses, a dark-haired girl with an impish expression sidled up to Jonathan and tucked her arm in his.

‘I’ve been admiring your dress ever since you arrived,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it’s exactly like the one I saw last week on the catwalk in Milan. And I have to say, it looks better on you than it did on the model. Don’t you think so, Summer?’ The new arrival flashed Summer a look from green eyes.

‘Rose, could I introduce Lady Ashley, my cousin? Ashley, this is Rose.’

Ashley held out a slim hand and grasped Rose’s in a firm grip. ‘I’m so very pleased to meet you. Johnny’s being telling me all about you. Are you enjoying yourself?’ She turned to Summer and said sweetly, ‘Summer, I don’t suppose you would mind very much grabbing one of the waiters? I’m famished.’

Summer glared at her before stalking off. Ashley winked at Rose. ‘She’s harmless really. She just has the hots for my dear cousin here. She can’t resist having a go at the opposition.’

Opposition? Her? Was she out of her mind?

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose caught a glimpse of Jonathan elbowing his cousin in the ribs.

‘And my dear cousin likes to exaggerate,’ he drawled. ‘I’m sure Summer has no interest in me whatsoever.’

Ashley raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow. ‘Don’t be naïve, sweetie. You know her type as well as I do. Just because her daddy earns millions, she thinks she should be marrying into aristocracy. And I’m afraid it’s you she has her sights on.’

‘I’m sure Rose isn’t interested in whatever fantasies are filling your brain, Ash.’ Although his voice was cool it was evident in the way he looked at his cousin that he held her in very real affection. ‘Besides, I’ve made it perfectly clear that I’m not in the market for a wife. Not now. Maybe never.’

‘Hey.’ Ashley laid a hand on his arm. ‘You mustn’t talk like that. Just because Uncle Charles can’t stay married for five minutes, it doesn’t mean some people don’t make a go of it.’

‘I think that’s enough on that subject for now.’ Jonathan’s tone was light, but there was a note of warning in his voice. ‘So, Rose, have you seen enough? What do you say we get out of here?’

There was nothing that Rose wanted more. But she didn’t want to drag Jonathan away from the party. Especially when they’d only been there for an hour.

Suddenly there was a cry of alarm from the other side of the boat. ‘David! Help me, someone! Oh, God, I can’t see him.’

Jonathan spun away, making for the other side of the boat where a crowd was forming. Rose followed close behind. Everyone was looking down at the water, muttering and pointing.

‘David jumped in. I can’t see him.’ The girl’s voice was frantic. ‘I told him he’d had too much to drink to even
think of going in the water, but he wouldn’t listen. God, where is he?’